At the request of her father, the Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman, Khatija Rahman sang during her school years for the Rajinikanth film Enthiran (2010). Her stunning voice captured the attention of the audience, and she took a few years off from music to recover. However, she came back stronger and has since delighted audiences all over the world with her performances.
“I am glad to be back. I look forward to having soulful connections with art,” says Khatija, who most recently made her composing debut in the Halitha Shameem-directed Tamil film Minmini. Initially, Khatija contacted Halitha after watching her film, Sillu Karupatti, the New Indian Express reported.
“I messaged her to say how much I liked it. Later, in 2022, she asked me if I would like to compose for her Minmini, but I felt I was not ready,” she says. “We reconnected sometime later and the film score hadn’t happened yet. I felt more ready to do the film and she felt I would be the right fit for it. She had listened to one of my independent songs (which is yet to be released) as well and felt that the genre worked with the film’s vibe.” Khatija started work on the film in February 2023 and devoted the following eight months to it.
began work on the movie in February 2023 and worked on it for the next eight months. Khatija's decision to pursue a music career seemed inevitable, given her family's history in music. When she was in Class III, she started studying Carnatic music, then Hindustani classical. Khatija and her sister Raheema performed for U2's Ahimsa in 2019.
“We didn’t know we were singing for U2. Our father just asked us to sing the verse from Thirukkural and we so did it,” says the 28-year-old singer-composer who has collaborated with artists including Sterlin Nithya, Ricky Kej, Hesham Abdul Wahab Philips, and Sami Yusuf. In 2020, she released her first single, Farishton, and in 2023, she released her first album, Kuhu Kuhu, which is a compilation of songs that Lata Mangeshkar originally sang. She showed off a completely different side of the musician with the first song from Coke Studio's inaugural Tamil edition, Sagavaasi, on which she grooved alongside rapper Arivu. “It was overwhelming as it was the first time I was jamming and in another studio,” says Khatija, who will make her international debut as a composer with Lioness, written and directed by Kajri Babbar.
Now, Khatija wishes to work with directors who are willing to push boundaries. “In the last few months I have got a few offers,” she says, adding that she likes to incorporate sounds she hears in world music into her compositions. “In Minmini, for the song Jananam, my inspiration was Frozen.”
She enjoys going to exhibitions, immersive art experiences, streetside shopping, and indulging in ghee dosas and sweets when she's not making music.
“I love playing on swings and slides,” she says, even as she champions for financial independence for women. “A few years ago, I enrolled for a course, Women On Wealth (WOW), and learned how to invest. Financial independence is empowering, and that way love is the foundation of your relationships not money.”
“I will be performing with my own band as part of the South Side Story Festival,” she says, adding, “Going forward, I want to focus on putting out my independent songs, perhaps organising a pop-up to support home businesses and doing more shows with my band.”